Wow! This is quite simply one of the best, most honest military memoirs I've read in many moons. In EYES RIGHT: CONFESSIONS FROM A WOMAN MARINE, Tracy Crow, who spent nearly ten years as a Marine during the Cold War era, pulls no punches. As a Public Affairs enlisted woman, then as a Warrant Officer, she learned all the basics of good journalism and how to tell a story. The who, what, when, where and why are all in here, and it all adds up to a riveting story of how a young girl from a troubled family made herself over as a Marine, and a damn good one at that. But there are also heartbreak, marital and family problems, some perhaps poor decisions and maybe a few regrets. Crow waited over twenty years to tell her story. And that's probably a good thing, probably made her more objective, made it a better story. She has no axes to grind, just a clear-eyed and beautifully written account of how it all happened, how hard she worked to not just succeed as a Marine, but to excel. And she did. She tells too of the difficulties of acceptance in such a male-dominated world, but she lays no blame. And I can find no fault in how she conducted herself. Her story is an honorable one, but it is also utterly human, and that's why it's so damn GOOD! I read the book in just a few sittings over a couple days. It's a hard book to put down. Well done, Marine. My highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the Cold War memoir, SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA ( )